No. 3. 



Manufacture of Sugar from the Beet. 



95 



', and, £reneral!y speakinir, it is profitable to all 

 t concerned in the fabrication — in the hands of 



competent persons, decidedly so. 

 I The cultivation of the beet, and the rearing 



and fattening of stock, are legitimate objects 

 cunnectei with the sugar house ; and united, 

 they form a suitable employment for the man 

 of cultivated mind, whose education and pur- 

 suits have unfitted him for " dashing into the 

 far we.'^t, with his broad-axe upon his shoul- 

 der," or the daily toil of growing his vegeta- 

 bles and exposing ihem for sale in the market 

 in his own wagon. Sugar growing, then, is 

 destined to become a resource to those who, 

 li-om r':'ading, study and observation, have be- 

 ime "enamoured of rural affairs;" by it is 

 embraced all that has ever "charmed the 

 eye, tlie ear, or the heart of tlie modern agri- 

 culturist ;" — li^re, he indulges his taste for 

 niiciiinary, chemistry and the arts, and fabri- 

 CTte-^ a tropical luxury in his own mild and 

 liealthfiil region, by means, too, which do not 

 deprive him of his nightly slumbers, or in- 

 flict upon him the pain of urging his servants 

 to exertions, endangering health and even 

 life, lest a change of season should mar his 

 prospects for a whole year. 



Is he fond of rearing fine stock, and par- 

 ticularly that noblest of all animals, the 

 horse T If I could take him to the magnificent 

 establishment of Mons. Hamoir, near Valen- 

 ciennes, in the heart of the Sugar District of 

 France, and introduce him to that generous 

 timily within the house, and to those perfect 

 and beautiful specimens in the stable and 

 barn-yard, — where I saw thirty oxen, of the 

 Durham breed, fattening on the refuse of the 

 sugar house, and the dairy cows of the same 

 breed feeding on the same — fifty plough 

 horses in one stable, of the largest Flemish 

 breed ; seven saddle and carriage horses, 

 reared from the mares of these plough teams, 

 by a cross with the stout English blood horse ; 

 five three year old colts, for the carriage, and 

 hunters, of the same breed ; and four of one 

 year old — all beautiful in their form, and of 

 superlative strength, and all feeding on the 

 refuse of the sugar-house, — I am sure he 

 would be, as I was, enamoured with the beet 

 sugar business! while to the philanthropist, 

 in such a country as France, as Mons. H. ob- 

 served, the reflection that " the introduction of 

 the growth of the beet root has added immea- 

 surably to the moral and physical strength of 

 the country," must be grateful indeed ! Here I 

 saw one hundred men and women digging the 

 land for the cultivation of the beet, with fifty 

 horses plotighing in the same field, for the 

 same purpose; but I never saw a new house 

 going up in France, except in the neighbor- 

 hood of the beet sujar establishments! I 

 remember, while walking over his fields with 

 Mons, Hamoir, that he left me for an instant, 



to step into a fine piece of clover, to pull up 

 a tall weed wiiich he saw growing there, 

 apologising for the weedy state of the land, 

 as he had not yet time to thoroughly clean it, 

 being busily engaged in beet sowing! — is it 

 any wonder, that he obtained an extra price 

 for his sugar, at the refinery, amounting to 

 one dollar and forty cents per hundred pounds, 

 above his neighbors^ 



The conjecture, that larger crops, and more 

 rich in saccharine, can be grown in this coun- 

 try than in France, has been fully verified; 

 but even there, the yield in both has been 

 surprising, in the estimation, too, of a large 

 sugar planter at New Orleans, who observed, 

 " if you will insure me seven per cent, of su- 

 gar from the Beet, I will cultivate thern, and 

 make a profit of 1.50,000 a year," and I cannot 

 resist the opportunity, to mention a conver- 

 sation which I had with the late lamented 

 Mr. George Walker, of Holmesburg, wlio said, 

 distinctly, " There are three tilings which I 

 can promise you in this country — larger crops, 

 more rich in saccharine, and a ready sale for 

 all the sugar you can make ;" and I am con- 

 fident, that the quantity and quality of the 

 crop is increased, by continued cultivation; 

 the land becoming more suitable to its growth 

 by deep ploughing, and thorough cleaning; a 

 deep, clean, and well pulverized soil being 

 essential to both. 



In the report above mentioned, the aver- 

 age yield of sugar &c. per acre is as follows, 

 estimating the crop at 40,000 lbs. per acre, 

 and six per cent, of sugar, 



Su<rar, 1st and 2d quality 2400 lbs. 



Melasses, 2 per cent., 8ii0 



Cakes, 15 per cent 6000 



9200 lbs. per acre. 

 But at nine per cent, of sugar, which is ob- 

 tained, and a crop of 60,000 — the quantity 

 which can be raised in this country — the ac- 

 count will stand thus : — 



Siisar, 9 per cent 5,400 I6s. 



Melasses, 2 per cent 1,200 



Cakes, 15 per cent., 9,000 



15,000 lbs. per acre. 



Now, compare this yield with that from the 

 sugar cane, even in some parts of the West 

 Indies, and the difference will appear striking 

 indeed. The following account is copied 

 from Major Moody's Report of the estimate 

 of the produce and expenses of a sugar es- 

 tate in Tortola, which may be relied upon, he 

 having been appointed, by the court of^ chan- 

 cery, receiver, to take charge of the planta- 

 tion. 



Siiffar grounds, — 135 acres.* 



Yiplii of sii£ar, 80 hlids. fS) 1,.500 lbs.— 120,000 lbs.— 



888 lbs. per acre. 

 Melasses distilled — 4400 gallons of ruin. 

 Negroes employed — 83. 



*The produce on 135 acres of beets, at 60,000 lbs. 



